


Convenient and Willing

by InfiniteObsession



Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-29 05:32:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18218882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfiniteObsession/pseuds/InfiniteObsession
Summary: Kim Sunggyu is an omega scientist committed only to the cause of science. Nam Woohyun is an alpha wanted by many, especially the government, several governments, actually. Three years ago, they joined forces and bodies in the pursuit of their own professional objectives. Or at least that's what they tell themselves.





	1. business as usual

Sunggyu had a **mission** that afternoon. He had a work request that needed attention and he was determined to use any means possible to get Woohyun to agree to it. He was also living proof of why you should never send an omega scientist on missions involving sexy, irresistible alphas with a penchant for dragging said scientist omega into bedrooms and not letting them go. 

Not that Sunggyu ever got dragged in against his will, of course. Oh, no. Sunggyu was more than willing and Woohyun was quite adamant that Sunggyu voice that inclination for being stuffed full of Woohyun’s alpha cock.

“You like this?” Woohyun said, licking a trail up Sunggyu’s spine as he thrust powerfully into Sunggyu’s wet heat. His cock was impossibly thick but Sunggyu’s body accepted it eagerly, squirming in enjoyment as each jolting plunge brought him closer to nirvana. Not hearing an answer, Woohyun grabbed his hair, tilting his head back roughly causing Sunggyu to whimper in complete submission. “Fucking answer me.”

“Yes, fuck. Don’t stop, don’t fucking stop.” Sunggyu breathed out so turned on that it was impossible to be still. He squirmed around greedily trying to get more pleasure, more cock, _more Woohyun_. The slick slide of skin against skin and the magnificent dominance Woohyun was displaying as his grip remained so pleasurably unyielding was all Sunggyu dared focus on. He adored these feelings, he adored _this alpha_. When Woohyun suddenly pulled out, he gasped so dramatically it would be comical in any other situation. “Fuck, no, get back here!”

“Beg for it. Tell me what you want.” Woohyun said coldly, flipping Sunggyu over and sitting on his abdomen, cock proudly on display just inches away from his face. Sunggyu’s mouth instantly began to water at the sight. How many times had he wasted fantasizing over having this monster of a dick in his mouth? How many experiments gone awry as he recalled how it stretched his body to its limits?

“Please, please, fuck me.” He said meekly. Sometimes that was all it took for Woohyun to begin pounding into him anew. Clearly, that wouldn’t work this time. And Sunggyu was just desperate enough to beg properly. “Please fuck me with your cock. I need it so much. Fill me up with your big alpha cock and pump your hot seed into me. Want you to wreck my body over and over again.”

“What if I want to fuck your mouth instead?” Woohyun looked feral at that moment. Like he would take Sunggyu every which way, take command and ownership over his body and chain him to the bed to be used at his leisure.

Yes, he wanted it so badly. Wanted that thick length to plow his mouth. Wanted Woohyun to do obscene things to him. “Whatever you want. Fuck my face with it until I gag all over it. I like it so much when you slide your hot cock into my mouth.” Sunggyu said, whimpering helplessly, disgustingly keen for it. “Fuck my throat until it’s raw.”

Woohyun looked down on him with a face so filled with lust that Sunggyu's breath caught in his throat. More filthy words spilled from his mouth about how much Sunggyu wanted to be used by him, and they dissolved into an incoherent jumble when Woohyun forcefully thrust into his slick hole again.

“Fucking take my cock.” Woohyun growled and Sunggyu mewled loudly in approbation. He needed this so badly. “That's right, be my little bitch. Gonna knot you so well and your hot little ass is going to be flooded with my alpha juice.”

Sunggyu moaned at the thought and his heart couldn't help but ache at the impossible thought of getting pregnant with Woohyun's pups. What he wouldn't give to get off his birth control and be bred by this big bad alpha. Just imagining his round belly, filled with this alpha's litter was enough to make him see stars. He came suddenly and loudly, orgasm prolonged when he felt the bump of Woohyun's knot against his hole.

 _Yes, yes, yes!_ He wanted to be bred like this, he needed it more than anything. Sunggyu howled in satisfaction when Woohyun's knot was fully seated inside of him, jets of cum spilling into his womb. He had barely caught his breath when Woohyun wrapped his hand around his omega cock pumping it with sure strokes, milking him for all he was worth until he was a shaking mess in Woohyun's arms.

“Stop. Please.” He groaned, he couldn't handle more stimulation with Woohyun's knot still buried deep inside of him. His body was buzzing and sated each brush of skin against skin aroused him and made his toes curl. Woohyun pressed his lips against the column of Sunggyu’s neck, a kiss? An apology? Sunggyu wasn’t coherent enough or emotionally stable enough to determine what the light brushing, so close to where a mate would mark him, could be.  Whatever it was, it helped calm the buzzing down to a pleasant hum that made his body go boneless as Woohyun slipped his shrinking knot from Sunggyu’s body.

Sunggyu let out a shuddering breath as Woohyun’s cum started leaking out of his ass. He felt a little to overwhelmed over what was supposed to be an afternoon quickie. But of course Woohyun looked unaffected as usual, rolling his shoulders and efficiently wiping down their sweat and cum from his body. Sunggyu gulped audibly as his gaze inevitably tracked Woohyun’s movement. He watched his muscles move fluidly, strength evident with every motion. He loved being held down by them and being held in them and manhandled by them.

Woohyun sniffed the air curiously, throwing a questioning look at him. “Another round? Didn’t you have that testing lined up for Project Morpheus?”

Sunggyu blushed, not realizing his voyeuristic tendencies had gotten him so wet, so ready for another round. The cold reminder provided clarity from his post-orgasmic, post-Woohyun induced haze. Sunggyu was here because he was convenient and willing. Any fantasies of the alpha before him harboring any feelings other than those induced by hormones and stress would remain that: fantasies.

“Sorry, I think my heat is coming up.” Sunggyu said, his voice came out much sharper than he planned but he doubted Woohyun would care.

“Your last one was just two weeks ago, though.” Woohyun rebutted absentmindedly, he was scrolling through his smartphone, obviously not really interested in the conversation. It felt like another pointed reminder that Woohyun was only invested in Sunggyu for two things: sex and science. 

The sex, he could get anywhere else, but the science was tricky. So he kept Sunggyu around to create his weapons of destruction and design drugs no one on the planet could quit, and used Sunggyu for sex because he was warm and willing and  _really fucking_ _easy_.

Since Woohyun was so blatantly checked out of the conversation, Sunggyu didn’t bother coming up with another excuse to cover his sudden arousal. Instead, he marched across the room, shamelessly naked, into Woohyun’s shower to clean up, mentally thanking his past self for the foresight of leaving a spare set of clothes under Woohyun’s sink. Woohyun wasn’t exactly gentle on his clothes. It was laughable really, that they did this so often yet the alpha had never once offered a single inch of closet space. Well, at least he didn’t begrudge Sunggyu the use of his toiletries and Sunggyu perversely enjoyed wasting as much of it as he could as some kind of petty payback for the lack of care the alpha showed him.

He was just pulling on his extra labcoat when Woohyun walked into the bathroom. Thankfully, his smartphone was tucked away so Sunggyu had his full attention. Except Woohyun was just in there to fix his hair and brush his teeth.

“About my request…” Sunggyu started unsurely. Woohyun had practically growled at Sunggyu when he made it earlier, right before he dragged Sunggyu into his bedroom. The report he had asked to be sent in with Sunggyu must have outlined an operation that had gone badly.

Woohyun paused to eye Sunggyu’s reflection before viciously spitting into the sink and gargling. “You want Sungyeol to stay and watch over the labs while I’m away.”

Sunggyu nodded quickly. He had a whole spiel prepared about how Sungyeol was a specialist who would most likely be the one administering Morpheus or at least training Woohyun’s men to use it, but of course… that was completely and _painfully_ unnecessary.

“I’ll let him know.” Woohyun said. He rolled his bad shoulder awkwardly and Sunggyu sidled closer, hand automatically going to massage the area. Some of Sunggyu’s pet projects centered around restoring the injured shoulder to its former glory, or at least eliminate the recurring pain emanating from it. He was more than a little hurt when Woohyun lifted his hand off. “It’s fine. Just annoying.”

And just like that, Woohyun was striding out of the room leaving Sunggyu all alone. _Business as usual_.


	2. alone again

Sunggyu was quite antsy when he got back to the lab. It was only compounded by the presence of his least favorite grunts. Jack and Derek were alphas whose presence near the altars of science could only be justified by the need to protect it. They and three security betas were stationed in the labs to monitor the scientists and the products they were working on. Often, they chose to linger around Sunggyu’s enclosed workstation in the middle of the lab network to leer at him and make jokes typical of their limited brain capacity and gargantuan egos. 

At least when Sungyeol or any other member of Woohyun’s inner circle was around, they kept their distance and stayed by the entrance. He requested Sungyeol over the others because his absence would have little to no impact on Woohyun’s trip, he was bringing Hoya along and he was basically an entire security team on his own, and Sungyeol knew about Sunggyu’s… crush. He never mocked him for it, though. For all his fooling around, Sungyeol never held that over Sunggyu’s head and for that, Sunggyu was eternally grateful. If it were Hoya or Sungjong, he’d never hear the end of it. If Dongwoo ever found out, he would probably clumsily attempt to get Woohyun to fall in love with him and fail in an epically embarrassing way.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on ends as Jack suddenly approached him from behind. “Had a good afternoon, did we?” He says sneeringly, his tone was laced with malice and innuendo. He could hear Derek chuckling at his cohort’s advances.

“None of your business.” Sunggyu bit out menacingly as he tried to measure out what he thought would be an appropriate dosage for the Morpheus serum into the electronic vessel he had built. The electronic charge was, _theoretically_ , supposed to quickly dissipate the serum as it struck the body thus leaving only a light, nearly untraceable burn or bruise on the victim’s body.

When Jack moved in, arms lifted to cage Sunggyu from behind. Sunggyu had had enough. He quickly turned and jabbed the electronic vessel right onto the perverted alpha’s adam’s apple.

“What the fuck, you bitch!” Jack roared, jumping back in shock and outrage. Derek was likewise hurling invectives, rapidly moving to corner the feisty omega. Lab instruments and dangerous chemicals flew every which way as Jack lunged forward to grab Sunggyu and Sunggyu quickly sidestepped him, sending a silent thanks to Howon for insisting scientists in their organization at least know how to run away from potential assailants.

 ** _“What the hell is going on in here_**?!”

Sunggyu froze, suddenly questioning following his instinct for self-preservation. Woohyun probably would not appreciate Sunggyu taking down the men sent to protect this lab and its residents.

Jack quickly righted himself and opened his mouth, probably to call Sunggyu more names and relay a riveting wound up story of how Sunggyu assaulted him but before a sound could escape he passed out. His overly muscular body teetered before falling flat, face plastered right onto the tips of Woohyun’s combat boots. Sunggyu noted in satisfaction the disgusted look on Woohyun’s face before he kicked Jack’s ugly head so that it lolled stupidly to the side. Derek twitched when Jack fell but mostly stood stockstill, fear of Woohyun overruling the urge to assist his fallen partner.

 ** _“I asked a question_**.” Woohyun barked out and every person in the room flinched, many scientists chose to keep their heads down and Woohyun’s men fanned out behind him as if to defend from an oncoming attack.

“This bitch went crazy with his stun gun when Jack approached, sir.” Derek reported failing to notice how dark the atmosphere had gotten after he uttered those words. Reading the room required some kind of intelligence, after all. “He was just asking how his afternoon was and then this stupid omega tased him.”

“What did you say?” Woohyun said, voice barely above a whisper but clear and pointed enough for it to travel clear across the room.

“I--uhhh,” Derek, the stupid to the point of imbecilic dunderhead, began repeating his statements and the rest of the room could only watch in horror and fascination as Woohyun quickly drew his gun and shot Derek in the leg.

“Shut the fuck up you stupid fucking oaf.” Woohyun snarled, tucking his gun back in its holster without even a second glance at the man who was now screaming, bleeding profusely on the floor. “Sunggyu—”

“I was testing the Morpheus serum on the electronic vessel.” Sunggyu blurted out, feeling like he was suddenly shoved into the spotlight, eyes fixated on Derek’s bleeding leg. It wasn’t until Woohyun was right in front of him, taking his face in his hand, that Sunggyu even realized the alpha had moved, invading his personal space and wreaking havoc to his ability to think straight. “The, I wasn’t sure what, what the appropriate dosage would be."

“I thought that’s what those lab rats were for.” Woohyun said tilting his head towards the rats he had just requested from logistics. His tone was light but there were obvious questions behind his statement. Questions Sunggyu didn’t feel comfortable answering with a room full of witnesses. He’d rather bear the shame of the abuse he’d suffered in private.

Sunggyu looked from the lab rats to the crumpled form of his tormentors. “They look the same to me.” He said thoughtlessly. Adrenaline was running its course through his system and panic was starting to set in.

Woohyun laughed, smiling right into his face, hand still holding Sunggyu’s face steady. “They look the same to me too.”

Sunggyu blinked rapidly, trying to figure out what exactly was happening. _Was Woohyun flirting with him?_ His heart was beating rapidly and his breaths came in and out unevenly. Unsure of what to do, mind still on self-preservation mode, Sunggyu gently put his hand over Woohyun’s and pulled it away from his face. Woohyun’s smile was gone now but Sunggyu needed comfort or at the very least, human contact, so he kept hold of Woohyun’s hand.

“Did he deserve it?” Woohyun asked quietly. Derek was whimpering pathetically loud, obviously in pain, and Jack was still knocked out. With the dosage Sunggyu had administered he would likely be out of commission for at least three more hours. Sunggyu had never tested the serum on a living creature but the properties of the chemicals used suggested bodily impairments that probably wouldn’t be reversible.

Sunggyu nodded slowly and tried to blink back tears as he flashbacked to months of unwanted advances and snide comments about his special relationship with Woohyun. 

“Yes. They deserved it.” He whispers.

Sunggyu doesn’t have a stomach for violence. He’s a scientist and a medical professional. He went into his respective fields to improve lives, maybe get his name plastered in the medical and scientific journals he had pored over as a young prodigy when his professional peers had all but ostracized him for his obvious youth and status as an omega. Instead, here he was, in an underground lab creating monstrous devices and substances and being Woohyun’s little plaything. 

But these men… they were _subhuman_. They were every vile thing connected to Woohyun’s line of business, all the caricatured brutality and callousness alphas were. Sunggyu hadn’t even seen the worst of what they could do, _what they had done_. He wanted them to hurt, _badly_ , and he hated them all the more for that.

“Clear the room. I want these two idiots separated but kept alive. Have one of Sunggyu’s juniors monitor that one’s condition.” Woohyun ordered, eyes never leaving Sunggyu’s face. “I’ll deal with them personally.”

Sunggyu wished he would look away, even just for a moment. There was no way to hide now. His emotions, his love, were written all over him. It was in the line of his body, angled towards Woohyun like he was a safe port during a raging storm. It was in the tensing of his lips as they slowly gravitated to Woohyun’s own. It was evident by the desperation of his hold. His long elegant fingers were scrambling to grab onto anything of Woohyun’s, his hands, his chest, his shoulders, his waist.

When their lips met, it was the sweetest kiss they had ever shared. Woohyun was gentle but coaxing, prompting Sunggyu’s lips to move with his own. Fireworks were going off in Sunggyu’s brain, neurons firing off rapidly, both pleasure and comfort flooding his consciousness. When Woohyun lifted his lips, Sunggyu immediately followed with his own, hand boldly reaching out to pull Woohyun back to him. 

“Please.” He whispered, without shame. “I need you. I need this.”

Woohyun’s lips were back brushing and sliding over Sunggyu’s before Sunggyu could even draw a breath. The tone of the kiss changed subtly from comforting and sweet to teasing and playful. Sunggyu couldn't stop himself from humming happily into each press of his lips against Woohyun’s. He knew this would only further his obsession with Woohyun but for once, just this once, he didn’t want to hold himself back. Literally anything could have happened if Woohyun hadn’t intervened in time. Even if Jack had passed out, Derek would have been there, ready to maul him, or maim him, or worse. He loved Woohyun and just this once he wanted it to show. He wanted to express it, to make it obvious that he wasn’t here for the cheap thrill of sex and science. He was here for Woohyun.

His heart soared when Woohyun slipped his tongue out for a taste of Sunggyu’s lips. Rather than conquering and plundering his mouth as usual, Woohyun gave short kittenish licks between kisses. It was like he was cajoling Sunggyu into opening up for him. Sunggyu moaned helplessly into the kisses. He was falling even deeper but the memory of these simple kisses would cushion his fall when Woohyun inevitably rejected him in the future. 

His moan allowed Woohyun’s tongue to slip past his lips and come into contact with his own and as they tangled together leisurely, electric currents of sensual satisfaction coursed through his body. He was so aroused but his arousal was of secondary importance to the emotional aspect of their kissing. Woohyun’s arms stayed securely around his waist and shoulders, relentlessly gripping him tighter and tighter against Woohyun’s body but not wandering and groping like usual.

Sunggyu pulled back to take a steadying breath, dizzy from the kisses and the adrenaline rush. He didn’t dare meet Woohyun’s eyes as he slowly untangled his hands from the alpha’s dark locks. He needed to pull away. If he held on any longer, he didn’t think he would survive letting Woohyun go again.

“Sunggyu?” Woohyun called for him questioningly, trying to meet his gaze. “What is it?” Woohyun’s arms stayed solid around him but Sunggyu knew from experience the alpha would let him go as soon as he pushed away. “What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”

 _Pretty_.

The last and only time Woohyun had complimented his looks was on some trip in Italy. Woohyun had work commitments with the Gambino family and he let Sunggyu tag along as his plus one. Sunggyu had primped a little for the gala they were going to attend. He had wanted to impress the oblivious alpha and be deemed worthy to stand at his side. As soon as Woohyun saw him, the alpha said he looked good before announcing a change of plans. He had taken Hani, an alpha and a member of his private guard, instead. Sunggyu went out, got drunk with Sungyeol, confessed everything, and cried himself to sleep.

“Sunggyu?” Woohyun called again worriedly, shaking Sunggyu just a little.

“I’m fine.” Sunggyu croaked, unable to get his voice properly past the lump in his throat. He tried to pull away but was surprised when the alpha’s arms remain firmly wrapped around him. He should be angry. The unrelenting hold should have made his pride rankle and his temper flare. He was _Kim Sunggyu_. A strong, independent omega with doctorates in fields Woohyun probably couldn’t even pronounce. But instead, his pathetic heart felt _grateful_. Grateful for this pittance of concern and, damn his delusional mind for thinking it, _affection_.

Sunggyu put up a final mock up of resistance, squirming to loosen Woohyun’s grip but stilled when he heard (and felt) a growl of frustration come from Woohyun’s chest. “Would it kill you to let me help?” Woohyun hissed.

Confused, wounded by the tone of Woohyun’s voice, Sunggyu looked up and tried to meet Woohyun’s gaze but the alpha was already looking away, jaw clenched in obvious annoyance. Before Sunggyu could even ask, Woohyun was already stepping away, touching his earpiece and summoning his team. “Dongwoo, get this place cleaned up. Sungyeol, take Sunggyu to the room. Hoya, with me.” Woohyun barked out when they had re-entered. The alpha threw one last withering glare his way before literally stomping out of the labs.

Without the support of Woohyun’s arms, Sunggyu swayed a little. Sungyeol and Dongwoo watched helplessly as he crumpled to the ground with a heartbroken moan. He took his head in his hands, temples resting on the edges of his palms. “What the hell am I doing with my life?” He whispered to himself, not even caring how pitiful he looked.

Sunggyu tried unsuccessfully to reason with his heart. What the hell was he doing here?

_He could be safe._

_He could be happy._

_He could have a normal life._

_He could have a family_. 

But then… _he wouldn’t have Woohyun_. Woohyun didn’t love him now, but he could one day. And the slightest possibility of being loved by the alpha left Sunggyu breathless and unable to leave this life of crime and carnality behind.

“Hyung, come on, don’t be like this.” Sungyeol said, tone studiously light and teasing. Sunggyu wriggled his shoulder away from Sungyeol’s light grasp. “Do you really want Derek’s blood all over your trousers?”

Sunggyu yelped at the reminder, bolting to his feet and checking if he had gotten that filth on his person. “Ya!” He reprimanded when he saw the pool of blood was half a meter from where he stood.

Dongwoo was laughing in the background, obviously listening in as he assessed the damage to the labs. “Aww, Yeolie. Don’t tease him too much! Are you alright, Gyu-hyung?”

“I’m fine.” Sunggyu said, sighing heavily. He was still a little shaken up but it wasn’t the first time he’d had to defend himself against an alpha. But it was the first time he had hesitated to make a move. Perhaps he had gotten too comfortable. Being with Woohyun was a double edged sword. It meant none of his men would force themselves on him but it also meant that they thought he was available to them as soon as Woohyun lost interest. Exhausted, he told Dongwoo which of his tools were still salvageable and which needed to be replaced before asking Sungyeol to escort him to his room.

“Uhh, pretty sure boss man wanted you in his room.” Sungyeol said as he trailed behind him.

Sunggyu scoffed in annoyance. “He’ll know where to find me. Why are you calling him boss man anyway? You only do that when you’re annoyed with him.”

“Ahhh, he was being annoying before leaving.” Sungyeol said, clearly already warming up to a rant. “Drilling me about security protocols as if I didn’t design the damn things. We were on the way to the lab because he was sure I missed an emergency exit.”

Sungyeol continued with his rant, Sunggyu only half-listening, too wrapped up in the vortex of feelings this afternoon had stirred up, until they got to Sunggyu’s bunk, so inconveniently placed as if Woohyun wanted to prove how little he cared for Sunggyu outside his bed and the lab.

After Sunggyu keyed in, Sungyeol looked at him, hesitating. “Are you sure you want to be in here right now? Alone?”

Sunggyu nodded. “I’ll be fine. I just need… I dunno, alone time, I guess.” He needed time to recover from this afternoon, needed time to rethink his choices and try to distance himself from Woohyun. The effort would be utterly futile but he’d feel a lot better if he at least pretended to want something else in life.

“You know, he does care.” Sungyeol said matter-of-factly.

“Just not the way I want him to.” Sunggyu responded, equally frank. When Sungyeol looked like he was about to offer a response, probably advice to confess, Sunggyu raised his hand and let his expression show just how tired he really was. “Please, Yeol. Just not now.”

“Fine. You’ll have to say it one day, hyung, but I won’t push today.” Sungyeol conceded. With a last question about his wellbeing, Sungyeol left the room. He would probably linger a little, maybe hole up in the spare room just a few doors down from Sunggyu’s. 

At least one person was by his side, sort of. Sunggyu thought to console himself.

He looked around his sparsely decorated room. The walls were bare and depressing, the bed surprisingly small and uncomfortable. “You’re pathetic, Kim.” He said to himself. Even as a starving scientist he’d lived better than this. At least he’d brought his own sheets. Sheets that currently called to him like a siren to a sailor. With one last wretched moan, he dropped onto the hard mattress and rolled himself into his comforter and tried to sleep.

Sunggyu woke up to the sound of his door sliding open. Muddled as his mind was, he recognized Woohyun’s scent and immediately relaxed back into his sheets. Even though he knew it was Woohyun, Sunggyu couldn’t help but jolt a little as the door to his room slid closed with a heavy thud. 

“Hey, sorry. It’s just me.” Woohyun said, voice low. There was something different in his voice, something odd, but Sunggyu was too groggy to recognize it.

“What time is it?” The omega asked sleepily.

“A little after midnight.” Woohyun replied, voice still low and soothing. He was placing a tray of food on Sunggyu’s work desk, carefully setting aside papers and Sunggyu’s tablet. “You missed dinner.”

“Jesus.” Sunggyu said, shocked at how late it was and how hard his body took the events of the day. “Thanks for the food.”

“No problem.” Woohyun muttered. He hadn’t once looked at Sunggyu. “How are you feeling?”

Sunggyu choked on his own breath. Shocked that he was being asked so directly. He straightened up, not wanting to seem weak or obvious. “I’m fine. I said I was fine in the labs.”

Woohyun opened his mouth, looked in Sunggyu’s direction, like there was something right behind Sunggyu’s ear, closed it again. “Right.” He finally bit out. “Of course you are.”

“I’m not made of glass!” He said quickly, worried that Woohyun was going to send him away. He needed time, he didn’t need to be sent off. He didn’t want to be without Woohyun, not even after all this. “I had the situation under control.”

“Yes, clearly provoking two alphas trained in combat in an enclosed space meant you were in complete control.” Woohyun said scathingly. He was looking away again, glaring at another part of the wall as if it had offended his family. If he hated this room so much, why did he even put Sunggyu here? Was it to dig in how absolutely low his regard for Sunggyu was?

Sunggyu recoiled. “Are you saying it was my fault?!”

“No!” Woohyun bellowed, causing Sunggyu to jump. “I’m saying you’re not supposed to be _fine_! I’m saying it’s okay if you’re not! I’m saying you—” Woohyun looked up, ran his hands through his hair, and let out another sigh. 

“What _am_ I saying?” Woohyun said to himself. “Just eat your food.” He still hadn’t looked at Sunggyu. “Eat your food.” He repeated, voice deep and commanding, finally throwing a glance Sunggyu’s way.

Woohyun was in a weird mood and Sunggyu didn’t want to aggravate him even if he himself was a confused ball of emotions. He quickly got up and sat down at his desk, flipping on the light switch as he began to eat. It was good food, probably not food from the cafeteria based on the side dishes and the utensils, but it tasted like cardboard in his mouth.

The silence was getting oppressively eerie so Sunggyu tried to initiate conversation. “I’m sorry you had to miss your meeting. Were you able to reschedule?”

Woohyun’s eyes were hard. “I don’t want to talk about it.” He said icily. His arms were crossed, a defensive position. The bulge of his arms indicated he was holding himself tightly.

Sunggyu gulped. Perhaps silence was better. If Woohyun took that tone with him again he’d probably spend the whole night crying.

After Sunggyu finished the meal, Woohyun watched as he drank the entire glass of water and instructed him to take a shower. Even in the shower, Woohyun followed him. He was watching Sunggyu, his gaze never wavering, even as Sunggyu avoided his eyes as he stripped down and stepped into the stall. Woohyun watched him brush his teeth, dry his hair, and get dressed for bed. 

When Sunggyu tucked himself back into bed, Woohyun finally tore his eyes off of Sunggyu, turning to leave. Sunggyu didn’t want him to leave. Despite his stony demeanor, his presence had been comforting to the omega. He made Sunggyu’s wolf feel safe even if he knew he was unwanted. No one would dare come in here if Woohyun was with him, no one would hurt him. Only Woohyun could hurt him here and it was the kind of hurt that he could live with.

“Can’t you stay?” Sunggyu asked, voice small and unsure. He felt like a needy child begging for attention but he needed Woohyun beside him tonight and he was tired enough to risk rejection. He watched as Woohyun drew in a deep breath before he responded. Was he asking for too much? He probably was, he should take it back. He didn’t want to take it back.

“If I stay…” Woohyun started, hesitating before he continued on. “I might ask for things you’re not ready to give me right now.”

Sunggyu’s heart plummeted. Of course that was all Woohyun was willing to give him, the only kind of comfort Sunggyu was allowed to ask of him. Sex. It was always going to be just sex. He was a sex partner, a fuck buddy.

“Oh.” Sunggyu turned so Woohyun wouldn’t see the tears in his eyes. “Good night.” He said, trying not to show how devastated he was. This was what his life was going to be. This was what he had chosen all those years ago. This was what he continued to choose every day.

“Sleep well.” The slide of metal against metal as the door slid shut had never seemed so loud. It was certainly loud enough to cover Sunggyu’s wretched sob, the first of many for that night.

* * *

Woohyun leaned back against the metal door, it was cold but nothing felt as cold as how he felt inside. Sighing, allowing himself a moment of weakness, he slumped down to the floor. What had he been thinking? This wasn’t their arrangement. This wasn’t what Sunggyu wanted. _No strings attached_. The fiery omega had made that clear from day one.

He could remember that day clearly. It was a few months after he had lured Sunggyu away from KAIST. Promising him absolute autonomy, an unlimited budget for science. He said he needed someone to head his Research and Development team after the previous head resigned. That was a blatant lie. The team was built for Sunggyu. The previous head was a placeholder. He pretended he’d hired Sunggyu for his expertise but he wanted so much more from the attractive omega who haunted his dreams and waking hours. 

They were sweaty, panting from successive rounds of mind-blowing sex induced by a rare pollen Sunggyu wanted samples of. He hadn’t meant to come in contact with it, hadn’t meant to pass it on to Sunggyu. He had planned on a slow courtship, something romantic, something slow so he didn’t scare the independent minded scientist away. But the pollen had been something of a blessing. His initial efforts had fallen flat. The pollen had at least forced the two of them to acknowledge their mutual attraction for the other. After all, even after exposure, only potential mates could sate and survive the appetites of those infected.

Woohyun had known the effects were lifting away. He felt the lightness that Sunggyu had talked about in between orgasms, like the blanket of lust was no longer weighing down on his body. Impulsively, wanting to still feel close, he had pressed a deep kiss where Sunggyu’s neck and shoulder met, right where his alpha wanted to bite, to claim him. He murmured something silly, a lighthearted remark. Sunggyu had stiffened up almost instantly on contact.

When the omega pulled away completely, Woohyun’s alpha had howled in discontent. This was unacceptable, Sunggyu was _his_. “What’s wrong?”

Ignoring him, Sunggyu had pulled his clothing on. Woohyun had acted on impulse, stupid, he grabbed Sunggyu’s arm and tried to tug him back. Back to bed, back by Woohyun’s side.

Sunggyu had been livid. “If you want hookups so badly, get a Tinder account! This was sex, Woohyun. I’m not here to be an insta mate or fall into some alpha’s bed, I’m here to do a _job_. The job you hired me for.”

Woohyun’s pride was hurt but he didn’t want Sunggyu to see that, more importantly, he didn’t want Sunggyu to _leave_. “Of course this was _just_ _sex_.” He bluffed, hating himself as he spoke. “I’m not interested in you as a mate. This was sex, Sunggyu. Convenient, good old fashioned sex. What are you so worked up about?”

Sunggyu had brushed the question off, telling Woohyun that his emotional outburst was probably the result of exposure to the pollen. They had come to an agreement that day. They came to each other for sex and sex only. Woohyun never brought up mating. When his alpha was acting up, he fucked Sunggyu’s mouth instead, not trusting himself to hold back from mating Sunggyu accidentally.

He had taken a few risks here and there, just to test the waters. He bought Sunggyu flowers, delivering them with a teasing smirk. Sunggyu had frowned at him and sent him away from the lab only to come by his desk to tell him the flowers were unserviceable and their petals had gotten in his lab instruments. Woohyun had laughed it off and told him Hoya had found them and dared him to give them to Sunggyu.

When Woohyun went to Zurich, he bought a box of chocolate truffles from Teuscher, designed completely around Sunggyu’s taste in food. Sunggyu had returned them. _Poisoned_. To this day, Sungjong refused to eat anything he hadn’t seen prepared himself unless someone else tasted it first.

He set up a private dinner in his secret getaway. _Just the two of them_. He’d been stressed out, returns weren’t what they were supposed to be, he’d had to prune his connections after an associate tried to double deal, but he saw Sunggyu laughing at one thing or another and he knew if Sunggyu smiled at him like that it would make his day so much better. Sunggyu agreed to the dinner. And then he brought his entire staff and turned it into a meeting.

Woohyun flew Sunggyu to Italy, taking just Sungyeol and Hani as security. Sunggyu said he’d never been and the Gambino family was throwing a fancy party. It was a good excuse to be in a romantic setting with the omega. He took one look at Sunggyu’s exposed collarbones and decided against taking him. He looked too good, too delicious. Someone was going to snatch him away and he didn’t want their first date to be marred by a brawl. He’d taken Hani instead and he came home to find Sungyeol tucking Sunggyu into bed.

Sungyeol. Ever since that night six months ago, things had been tense between them. Woohyun was man enough to admit that he was jealous of the other. He and Sunggyu seemed so close all of a sudden. Every time he saw them together, he wanted to rip the other alpha’s throat out. But he made Sunggyu smile, something he never did for Woohyun. So Woohyun sucked it up and kept him around, and if Woohyun was always lingering every time those two came close, no one could say anything about it.

Hearing Sunggyu ask for Sungyeol specifically to stay behind had been hell on him. Sunggyu had been so pliant today, so willing and giving. All so Sungyeol could stay behind with him. Woohyun was probably fighting a losing battle. They’d never slept together, he knew that for sure. But it was only a matter of time. It’s not like Woohyun’s scent would deter them. The way Sunggyu so blatantly scrubbed off all traces of Woohyun from his body every time they had sex, he was surprised anyone outside his inner circle knew that they had that kind of relationship. 

But people _did_ know. People like Jack and Derek. People who were in a position to hurt Sunggyu, to taunt him. This was why he had wanted to hold back in the beginning. With society as it was, people were too quick to pass judgment on the private lives of unmated omegas. It had been a mistake to put Jack and Derek on rotation as lab security but he needed alphas in there. He needed to know the best defenders were there in case anything ever slipped past their insanely secure network.

He felt antsy all of a sudden, unsure about Sunggyu’s safety even as he sat like a guard dog right in front of his door. Woohyun’s alpha needed to see him, needed to watch over him. It wouldn’t be too bad an invasion of privacy would it? Sunggyu was sleeping, Woohyun wouldn’t be bothering him. He just needed to check in, feel useful. He stood up and dusted his pants off. 

A quick look, he promised himself. He wouldn’t stay. He wanted to. He wanted to take Sunggyu in his arms and swear no one else would ever hurt him. But it wasn’t his place. That wasn’t his role in Sunggyu’s life. With that sobering thought, Woohyun slid his key card into place.

* * *

Sunggyu was tired of crying. He was tired, in general. But he couldn’t sleep with a stuffed nose and sticky tears drying on his face so he stood up to wash his face. The door suddenly slid open and he stumbled, startled and afraid. He couldn’t see, Woohyun had switched his lights off, and his sense of smell was compromised from his pity party. He backed up against the corner.

“Sunggyu?”

Woohyun, that voice was Woohyun’s. “What are you doing?” The lights suddenly switched on, bright and blinding. Sunggyu covered his face, not wanting Woohyun to see he’d been crying. “Sunggyu, why are you over there?”

When Woohyun reached out and tried to pull him up, Sunggyu couldn’t help himself. He lashed out like a wounded animal. He threw hit after hit, letting out his frustrations, his anger at being rejected, his hurt at being cast aside for not wanting sex, his fear from everything that had happened earlier.

“I hate you! I hate you!” He spit out repeatedly. He sounded angry, no, he sounded _broken_. But he didn’t care. Let Woohyun make whatever he wanted out of it, he was too shattered to stop himself. It took a few hits for Sunggyu to realize Woohyun wasn’t defending himself. His arms were stiffly held up to his sides, body open and angled toward Sunggyu as if he was accepting all the blows wholeheartedly. There was a cut on his face and Sunggyu felt moisture on his fingertip that meant he must have inflicted it.

For a minute, the room was silent except for the sound of their breaths. “Are you done?” Woohyun asked, breaking the silence. “Is it over?”

Ashamed at his outburst, Sunggyu nodded shakily. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” Woohyun said and when they locked gazes, Sunggyu had never seen such depth of emotions in the alpha’s eyes before. They spoke multitudes and volumes and Sunggyu couldn’t understand even an ounce of what they were trying to convey. Woohyun walked out before Sunggyu could even ask. _Alone again_.

 


	3. never again

Sunggyu was done. It was over. They were over. Over before they had even really begun. 

Woohyun needed a drink. 

Woohyun needed to punch someone in the face. 

Woohyun needed his best friend. 

His feet moved on autopilot and his hand never hesitated to key in the passcode he knew had remain unchanged even if it had been months since he last used it.

“Namu?” The man called out immediately upon Woohyun’s entrance. He’d always been such a night owl, unable to sleep a wink without a drink or a wholehearted spar.

Woohyun only grunted in response, heading straight for the liquor cabinet. It was empty. What the hell? Annoyed beyond belief, he started rifling messily through the cupboards and refrigerator. 

“Hey, what’s going on?” His best friend asked, approaching cautiously from behind. “Ya! Stop dumping my stuff out!”

Woohyun ignored him until he realized there was no alcohol to be found. “Let’s spar for a bit.” He said casually, internally his blood was boiling. He’d lost him. He’d lost his most precious person. He still had everyone else. Maybe they should go too. This one was already halfway out the door anyway. He should get rid of him. Woohyun eyed the taller alpha with interest, remembering weaknesses, thinking of how to exploit them. Should he make it quick for the sake of their friendship? Should he mess around a little to soothe his wounded pride?

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Sungyeol said warily, carefully holding himself in a non-threatening manner. But Woohyun knew him well enough that he had clocked every option, gone through scenarios upon scenarios of defending himself right here, right now. “Let’s just talk.”

Woohyun walked away, making sure to bump against Sungyeol’s shoulder painfully. He didn’t want to talk. He hadn’t talked in so long it felt unnatural. He had held everything in for his sake, for Sunggyu. Thinking of him made him hiss. It was painful.

“Look, I know I’ve been neglectful as a friend, thing have been tense… I thought I understood some things and it pissed me off but it turns out I’m a lot stupider than we both thought I was.” Sungyeol said, following him into the living area of his on-base suite. This was a nice room, a room they had configured themselves when things were good, were normal between them. 

Woohyun paid Sungyeol little attention as he made room for himself on his favorite spot, gently scooping a sleeping Ahga out of the way. He collapsed onto the sofa-bed on his belly, not even caring that he was in a vulnerable position. He could trust Sungyeol. He trusted Sungyeol with his life. He could trust him with Sunggyu too, he thought. He would take care of him.

“You’re fired.” Woohyun declared tonelessly. He was tracing the patterns on a throw that was in his spot. Paisley, Sungyeol? Really? It was such an ugly pattern and the color purple threw him off.

“Hey, now…” Sungyeol mock protested, sitting on the ottoman near Woohyun’s head and reaching into a side table. The fact that he barely even flinched at the dismissal annoyed Woohyun but also reassured him a little.

“I have a job for you.” Woohyun interrupted, turning onto his back and getting comfortable. He had to work quickly. Rip the bandaid off, so to speak. 

“That’s not how firing people works, Nam.” Sungyeol said, trying to catch the thread he was on. Throwing him a first aid kit for the cut on his face.

“Shut up.” Woohyun ordered but there was no bark nor bite in his words. He took the kit and cleaned his wound up. “I’m going away. I need you to clean house, I don’t want to come home to a mess. And then you can go. _Maybe_. Move back to Korea and open up that silly gym you never shut up about.”

“Clean house?” Sungyeol repeated. “Woohyun, Jack might be paralyzed for the rest of his life. Derek is already dead. We took turns. With a car. You took _three_ turns. Do you think other men were involved? An internal investigation? That’s what you want? And don’t call my gym silly, it would be the coolest gym in Seoul.”

Woohyun looked at him like he was being obtuse on purpose. “I don’t mean that scum. Don’t talk to me about them.” Sungyeol only gaped back at him in confusion. He wondered how they could get so out of sync after only a few months of not really talking.

“He doesn’t have a lot of personal items, a few things in my room, he can take the labs. Those were always his anyway. I want it all out, including the staff. Set it up as an independent think tank. Jinki can help with the paperwork. He should have a nice place, somewhere safe but not somewhere he can get lonely. Korea would be nice, maybe he could finally meet his nephew, but KAIST might try to lure him back and teaching always made him miserable. He’s too brilliant, no one can keep up.” Woohyun droned on leaving Sungyeol struggling to keep up but he had to get this out of his system before he decided to be a selfish prick and keep Sunggyu by his side. “Make sure he has some money, not too much of it, not enough to draw attention. Just enough so he doesn’t have to go looking for investors. I’ll call Key and Jaejoong-hyung and ask them to back it up on paper. Ask Minho’s agency to provide the necessary security detail, tell him to keep it local and beta-led. You should really be writing this shit down.”

“I’m not your secretary!” Sungyeol snapped, glad for the break from the relentless instructions. “And if ‘cleaning house’ means getting Sunggyu out of here then you’re making the biggest mistake of your life.”

Woohyun glared at him. “You’ve known me my entire life. Sending him out of a bad situation is probably the _best_ thing I’ve ever done.”

“No, it’s not. It’s not. Listen to me, Namu, please.” Sungyeol said. “Look, I… when you started this _thing_ … I thought it was something else, hyung thought it was something else too.”

“Why do you call him hyung?” Woohyun asked, interrupting, being difficult because he didn’t want to listen and just to keep his mind off the churning discomfort his wolf felt at sending its potential mate away, turning to stare at the ceiling.

“He’s two years older than us!” Sungyeol exclaimed, obviously frustrated at the change in subject.

“It makes you seem close.” Woohyun said petulantly. He was being shallow and immature but he just had his heart handed to him in pieces and he was with his best friend, surely he was allowed this?

“Close? You call him by his first name!”

“Because I’m his boss.”

“ _Because he lets you_! He lets you do anything you want!” Sungyeol declared passionately.

“ _Because I’m his boss_.” Woohyun repeated soullessly. That was probably a part of it. Woohyun was Sunggyu’s boss, he fed him, clothed him, gave him nice things, and freedom to create anything. Sunggyu must have felt grateful. Was he so pitiful an alpha that he needed to buy his omega’s affection?

“ _Because you’re the love of his life_!” Sungyeol said exasperatedly. “Don’t look at me like that. He loves you! He told me! That’s why I punched you that night. I thought you were playing with him. I thought you were being rude and cruel and thoughtless. At first, when you started looking for him, when you told me who he was, I thought you just wanted to return a favor. I thought you wanted to show off a bit about how well you were doing. And then you started sleeping with him, and I thought, _okay_ , it must be love. But you didn’t _**mate**_ him! **_You_! **The sappiest alpha in the world! But, hey, _no judgment_ , because you were both on the same page right? You both were clear on what was happening? No one was getting hurt, right? Wrong!”

Definitely wrong, Woohyun thought nodding. He’d been hurt plenty of times. He was hurt everyday.

“That night in Italy, hyung got drunk. He got really drunk. He cried himself to sleep.” Sungyeol continued, arms gesticulating wildly as he seemingly reached the end of his rant.

Woohyun thought his heart couldn’t feel anything else but it contracted in pain at the thought of Sunggyu crying. He’d been crying earlier and Woohyun had sworn suffering and death to whoever had caused it. Sungyeol wasn’t making any sense.

“Stupid is a really bad look on you.” Woohyun deadpanned. “Let’s spar.”

“I’m not sparring with you, you overemotional robot—

“Robots don’t have emotions.”

“Shut up! God! And yes, they do. Well, _they can_. Emotions are just responses that can be programmed in. I’ve read so many threads, I’ll link them to you. _Later_. Not now. This is important.” He was getting worked up but he wasn’t letting the issue drop. 

Maybe Hoya would be a better best friend, Woohyun thought, but Woohyun didn’t make friends with people who could outspar him regularly so he dismissed that idea right off the bat. Dongwoo was too troublesome. He liked to talk about feelings and get in really deep. Sungjong… well, he was definitely stuck with Sungyeol.

“Like I was saying, hyung was drunk and he told me everything. He told me he was in love with your stupid face, that you didn’t give a crap about him. He said you treated him like shit—

Whoa, whoa. That wasn’t true and Woohyun had to object, sitting up. He treated Sunggyu like a freaking god both in bed and out of it!

“No, I know, I get it now, that _that’s what you thought_! But he took it the wrong way, hell, I took it the wrong way until this afternoon.” Sungyeol said. “You’re just… he didn’t know, okay? He didn’t understand you.”

“Until this afternoon in the lab?”

“Not just that but… with Derek.” Sungyeol replied, shivering a little. “I’ve seen you kill, hell, I’ve helped you. But I’ve never seen you like that, so vicious, like you wanted him to feel all the pain before his soul left his body. Let’s be real, Jack is only alive right now because you want to give Sunggyu the chance to examine him for whatever scientific value he can get out of him and then he’ll get even worse than what Derek did, right?”

“Then it started to click.” Sungyeol said, snapping dramatically. “I don’t know how or why, but you and Sunggyu misunderstood each other this whole time. He loves you. And you love him, don’t you? I don’t know why you didn’t tell me, it was probably too important, too special, and that’s fine. But you need to tell him. You need to tell him and you can’t do that if you send him away. _He loves you_!”

“Stop saying that!” Woohyun growled, annoyed with how callously Sungyeol threw the phrase around. As if it didn’t hurt Woohyun to hear it and have to deny it.

“But it’s true!” Sungyeol insisted.

Was it true? Woohyun didn’t think so, his heart was pounding so strongly it might burst out of his chest. It couldn’t be true… and even if it was… He closed his eyes and all he could see was the flurry of blows Sunggyu had thrown at him, all he could hear was his omega screaming his hate for him. 

“ _It doesn’t matter_.” He said sternly. Maybe he fell in love with Woohyun a little bit over time. Maybe the things Woohyun imagined between them weren’t just in his imagination… but that was before today.

“Doesn’t… what?” Sungyeol was probably looking at him with a mixture of disbelief and revulsion. He didn’t need to open his eyes to see that. “You’re saying you believe me, but it doesn’t matter? _Make it make sense_! The omega you love, the one you’ve been obsessed with since you were _seven years old_ loves you too!”

Woohyun shook his head. “Maybe he did. He doesn’t anymore. Quite the opposite in fact. He said so. A lot actually, twelve times. Maybe more. I lost count.”

“No… what happened? What did you do?” Sungyeol asked, suddenly quiet. Confused and worried about how Woohyun had managed to piss off the omega who was head over heels in love with him. “Namu…”

“Maybe it’s what I did, maybe it’s what I didn’t. I don’t know, and I don’t think I could survive finding out.” Woohyun said honestly, closing his eyes. “Just… just do what I said. Send him away and don’t ever tell me where to find him. _Not ever_. He doesn’t need to live his life with an obsessed alpha trailing after him.”

“He… he loves you, though.” Sungyeol said as if he couldn’t stop repeating himself. Like a broken record. It was irritating.

“He’ll get over it.” Infatuation. That’s what it must be. Woohyun didn’t exactly provide Sunggyu with other options to turn to without him. He’d grown dependent on the sex, Woohyun told himself.

Woohyun opened his eyes and looked down at his palms. His hands had been covered in blood at many points in his life, the blood of others as well as his own. It made sense that he’d never get to hold an omega like Sunggyu in his life. When he was younger, all he dreamt about was become stronger, becoming harder. He cried too much, he felt too much. He needed to be the toughest there was. Not just tough, but smart, too. He had to be to have his empire stretch so wide. Alphas like him were suited for this life of crime. An omega like Sunggyu deserved much better, deserved to be in the light shining as brightly as possible.

“Please. Just let me do this.” He said, not caring if he sounded desperate. Sungyeol had seen the best of him and the worst, he knew how to handle Woohyun being weak. “It’s for the best.”

Sungyeol looked away, giving Woohyun privacy to let a small tear fall, knowing it was going to happen but letting him have that moment in private. “Did he… is he the one who scratched you up?”

Woohyun nodded. Maybe if Sungyeol understood how far he had pushed Sunggyu, maybe he would listen to him. “He _hates_ me.” Woohyun repeated slowly, loudly, needing to hammer the point across. “He hates me and the transfer might be the best thing for him right now, for both of us.”

“Okay… I—I’ll get it done.” Sungyeol said. The tall alpha opened a compartment Woohyun had forgotten about and took a few bottles out. “Don’t tell Hoya I still have these. Fucking judgmental health nut.”

Woohyun smiled a little despite the pain. He had missed his best friend.

* * *

Sunggyu heard someone come into his room. His eyes felt like they had been cemented shut. He had fallen into a fitful sleep last night, quite often jerking awake to sob inconsolably.

“Hyung?” Sungyeol called, sitting on his bed and shaking him gently. He didn’t want to wake up just yet, his brain felt muddled, his heart felt like it had been dragged across miles of sandpaper. “I didn’t want to wake you but it’s almost dinner time.”

Dinner. His stomach protested at the thought of missing another meal but he doubted he’d be able to keep it down for long. He sat up slowly, reaching a hand out to Sungyeol for help. “Is this blood, hyung?”

Sunggyu winced. He couldn’t bring himself to wash it off last night. It was all he could see. Evidence of his sin. He had attacked Woohyun so ferociously and the alpha had just stood there and taken it. He’d felt so guilty.

“It’s not mine.” He mumbled, rubbing his eyes to try to get them to open up.

“It’s Woohyun’s, isn’t it?” Sungyeol said quietly, wiping it off with a damp cloth. “He had a cut on his face last night. I knew it had to be you.”

No one else was crazy enough to attack the head of a crime organization. Sunggyu didn’t realize he’d said it out loud until he heard Sungyeol chuckling.

“No one could even get that close.” He said jokingly, and it felt like he drove a stake through Sunggyu’s heart. It was true, actually. Woohyun didn’t let a lot of people close to him and he definitely didn’t let anyone hit him. The only time he’d seen the alpha take a hit he definitely could have avoided was when Sungyeol had punched him when they were in Italy.

“Where is he?” His eyes finally cooperated and opened, they were probably puffy and ugly. A small, vain part of him was glad Woohyun wasn’t here to see him like this. He needed to know where he was though. He had to apologize, he had to get down on his knees and beg for the alpha’s forgiveness. Not loving Sunggyu hurt, a lot. But it wasn’t something he should punish Woohyun for. At least Woohyun had been honest from the beginning about his feelings.

“He’s gone.”

Sunggyu froze. It felt like there was ice in his veins, like he’d never be able to draw in another breath. Gone?

“Wait, no, hyung. Breathe. Calm down.” Sungyeol said, noticing his panic. “He’s just… he had somewhere he needed to be. Off-base, he’s _off-base_.”

It took a few minutes for his breathing to return to normal. Sungyeol was eyeing him with obvious concern. “Should I call a doctor?”

“ _I’m_ a doctor.” Sunggyu quipped half-heartedly. “Where’d he go? Is he on his way to Moscow? Will he be back soon?” The meeting Woohyun had missed yesterday was an important one. It was about an arms deal that had been causing the alpha not a small amount of stress. No wonder he’d been so angry last night.

Sungyeol looked at him, he didn’t like the amount of pity his gaze held.

“He’s not on his way to Moscow. The deal fell through. Hoya, he sent Hoya to deal with it.” Sungyeol said slowly. “Woohyun is… he’s going to be off the grid for awhile.”

“Because of me?” Sunggyu asked, already knowing what the answer would be. This was punishment, he was sure of it. After Italy, Woohyun had avoided him for three whole tortuous days. He wondered how long the alpha intended to avoid him this time. The anger from last night had all but dissipated, he’d never been one to hold on to a grudge.

“Because of a lot of things…” Sungyeol said. “Look, hyung. I have to tell you something, I’m pretty sure it’s not my place to say this but…” Sungyeol hesitated. The minutes ticked on maddeningly as Sungyeol continued to stare off into space.

“Yeol?” Sunggyu prompted.

Sungyeol sighed. “I’m just going to tell you. The organization is… it’s going to go through some internal changes. Woohyun feels like we’re too spread out, things are too insulated.”

“You know those things are basically opposites, right?” Sunggyu said, frowning at how vague the usually blunt alpha was being.

“Wait, really?”Sungyeol seemed to wrestle comically with the idea before shaking his head and proceeding. “Anyway, Woohyun wants to make sure that the more legitimate looking side of the business has the, uh, papers to back itself up in case anything happens.”

“I thought that’s why he encouraged me and my team to keep publishing our more… _palatable_ experiments.” Sunggyu said, he didn’t understand the point of this conversation. Usually, when he was conversing with any other person it was easy for him to pinpoint based on the beginning of it where it was going to end.

“Yes, well, he, he wants to take it a step further.” Sungyeol continued. “He wants you and your team to head back to Korea to set up an independent think tank. Something legitimate, with papers and investors and your own lab complex. You’ll probably still have output for us but most of your public projects will be aboveground.”

Sunggyu gaped stupidly as Sungyeol continued on about Woohyun’s plans for the team, his plans for Sunggyu, before interrupting. “He’s firing me.”

“No!” Sungyeol said emphatically. “He’s relocating the R&D team. There’s a difference.”

“Is anyone else being _relocated_?”

“Well, no, not that I’ve—”

“So he’s firing me. Is this how crime lords break up with their flings?” Sunggyu said, already seething. This wasn’t just immature, it was unprofessional and… and… it fucking hurt. He was devastated and humiliated. And Woohyun had sent Sungyeol to deliver the news instead? Fucking coward.

“It’s not, look—I” Sungyeol interrupted his raging rant, trying to calm the obviously furious omega. “This is way above my pay grade. Wait, forget I said that. Hyung, hyung, come on. That spoon did not deserve that.” Sungyeol said as Sunggyu chucked the utensil to the furthest wall.

Sunggyu stood up, kicking off his blankets. _Oh_ , he was dizzy, this was a mistake. He collapsed into his desk chair but not before upturning the desk and scattering its contents all over his floor. “What the fuck?” He said aloud.

“Hyung…”

“What?” He snapped, annoyed at everything.

“It’s not what you think.” Sungyeol pressed on over Sunggyu’s condescending scoff. “There have been security concerns. Especially after what happened yesterday. Your team has the most number of omegas and with a security team of mostly alphas, there will be more incidents like last night. The security grunts might not be willing to go the lengths intended to protect you guys if they’re going to end up as test subjects. I’m not saying you were at fault. Jack and Derek deserved everything they got and then some. You won’t ever have to worry about either of them again, Woohyun has made sure of that. But this is about the future.”

Test subjects. His assailant. The man he had recklessly used an untested serum on. He was pretty sure he could get all of his licenses suspended for that even if he was just defending himself. Feeling shamed, he tried to calm himself down. “I’ll… think about it.” He replied solemnly. Woohyun was still on his mind but he had to set that aside for now. Woohyun was safe and clearly none of his concern no matter what he thought of anyway. “Do we have a timeline?”

“Around three weeks or so? Probably a little shorter than that depending on how quickly the paperwork gets done.” Sungyeol said.

Sunggyu nodded and because he couldn’t resist the urge to feel sad about his situation he asked. “I’m never going to see Woohyun again, am I?”

Sungyeol stayed silent and stood up to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. Sunggyu cried, he cried for what had happened, he cried for what could have, and he cried for himself and all the opportunities he would never get to have again.

* * *

Sungyeol rolled his shoulders as he walked out of Sunggyu's room. It had taken a few hours for Sungyeol to get him to calm down and eat something. Checking his clock, he groaned as he calculated the time difference. He pulled his phone out and dialled a number he hadn't called in awhile. “Hey, Myung? I need a favor.”


End file.
